Apple Reportedly Loses Another Unreleased iPhone Prototype

The Apple logo is displayed outside one of the company's stores.
(AP Photo/Russel A. Daniels)

A haunting scenario has come back to take another bite out of Apple, as another highly-prized iPhone prototype reportedly disappeared at an upscale San Francisco bar.

A source tells CNET that the iPhone was lost at Cava 22, a self-described tequila lounge, in late July.

Apple declined to comment, but the source says the tech giant frantically tried to retrieve the lost phone days after it disappeared, telling police it was priceless. However, no report was filed.

An electronic trace for the phone led to a two-floor, single-family home in the city’s Bernal Heights neighborhood, CNET reports.

Police and investigators from Apple then showed up at the house and spoke to a man who claimed he was at Cava 22 the night the phone was lost, but said he didn’t have it. He further denied possession of the device when Apple offered money for it.

He allowed authorities search the home, but they did not find the device.

Last year an iPhone 4 prototype was lost at a San Francisco bar and was later allegedly sold to a technology blog for $5,000. The prototype was then unveiled to the world before then-Apple CEO Steve Jobs could showcase it in one of his trademark product announcements.